Fumetsu no Senshi-tachi Z : Shouyuu

An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoi-Kami Sarah

FNSTZ : Shouyuu - Chapter Two

Bulma trudged sleepily into the kitchen the next morning and made tea. She hadn't slept well the night before. Her dreams were plaugued with horrific images which faded with every second that passed till all that was left was an unsettling feeling that something frightening had taken place.
"Morning," Gohan chimed as he popped around the corner.
Bulma shrieked and put her hand to her chest. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry! Heh, I guess you're still on edge from last night, ne?'
"What?" she asked, still bleary. "Oh! The stories! Yeah, I guess so. I'm also not a morning person, you know that!" she scolded.
"You bet I do, why else do I exploit it?" Gohan hugged her and went to kiss her. She pulled back.
"I haven't brushed my teeth yet!"
He laughed, kissed her anyway and sat down at the table.
She joined him with her cup of tea. "Gohan, did you sleep ok last night?"
"Mmm, yeah, but I had some wicked nightmares..."
"Me too!"
Bulma wanted to ask him if he couldn't remember his dreams either when he stood up. Gohan walked to the window and looked out.
"Wow, that's a first."
"What's a first?" she asked and went to see what he was wondering at.
Koneko was on the lawn in her blue spandex, working out in the brisk morning air.
Bulma looked amazed. "This is the girl who sleeps till noon if I let her?" she asked. She cracked the slider a crack and called out to her. "Ohayo, Koneko-chan. You want some breakfast?"
The young woman turned to face them. Her long, lavendar hair was up in a ponytail and swished over her as she did so. She smirked. "Sure."

*
Polian used the starlight that evening to navigate his way northward. November had just arrived and in this region, and temperatures were already well below freezing.
The lab was just as cold. The only bit of warmth which his hightened senses percieved was coming from a four-foot hyperbolic chamber in the corner of the room. The clicking of what sounded like hundreds of fingers on hundreds of keyboards echoed off the granite walls.
"Zen'i?" he asked the darkness.
There was no answer. A faint glow came from the corner of the chamber, and he approached this cautiously.
Each of her fingers had split into a half a dozen, thin, utilitarian digits. The connection wires coming from her head and her haunting, unblinking stare made his heart sink.
"Z, what happened?"
Polian stood right next to her, but she wasn't listening. A million intricate tasks had to be processed every moment and she could not look away. He crossed to the chamber and peered into it.
Chibi-chan was pale and unconcious; much the same as she was the last time he had seen her, five days ago. He wanted to take her out of there, take the horribly cold-looking implements of science off of her and hold her poor, little body to him until she warmed up. At the very least, he could stroke her soft, curly, black hair which was damp with sweat.
"Zen'i?" Polian pleaded one more time, but still not getting an answer, sat down next to the Jinzoningen. One of her pale, blond locks had fallen into her face. He thought about how much she hated having her hair out of place and gently brushed it back for her.
"It's ok, Z. I'm right by your side."

*
Gohan returned that evening tired out from a long day of sparring with Koneko. The girl was unrelenting today and he wore a few bruises to show for it. He was, however still stronger than she was, and had proved himself the victor at the end of the day.
Koneko looked in much rougher shape. When Bulma scolded Gohan for his brutality, Koneko growled for her to be quiet. She was fine, she said, and could take care of herself.
After she had left for her room, Bulma confronted Gohan.

"There's something weird with her," she said and folded her arms. "First she wakes up at the crack of dawn, then the silent treatment, now this."
"Maybe there's something in the air," he replied and shrugged.
"Gohan, don't give me that! You've spent more time with her than I have in that Spirit and Time place. You HAVE to admit something's not right."
"Yeah." He pursed his lips. "I may be a newbie when it comes to parenting, but I don't think we should jump down her throat. Let's see if she shakes it off, first."
Bulma frowned, and opened her mouth to agree when they both started at the sound of a scream coming from Koneko's room.

Gohan opened the door and they both rushed in to see what the matter was.
Koneko was on the floor, shivering with a terrified look on her face. Standing above her, with a look of total dismay was Android Number 17.
Bulma's temper flared. She looked from the Jinzoningen to her daughter, who clutched her torn shirt to herself and sobbed.
"What have you DONE!?" she screamed and ran to Koneko.
Gohan simply stood in the door frame and glowered, his own temper rising much faster. The tiny, still smoldering ember of his hatred for the destroyers of his world was fanned in to a rageing fire.
"You!" he hissed through his teeth. "You better start running."
"But I.." Juunanago protested, the look of shock still on his face.
"GO!" Gohan commanded.
Stunned, Juunanago looked to Koneko and shook his head before obeying and blasting through the open window.

Bulma shushed her. "Did he hurt you?" she asked.
Koneko stopped her sobbing and shook her head. Her hair hung in her face. "Please," she whispered. "I want to be alone."
Gohan convinced Bulma to come with him and they left her in her room.
She sat up straight, holding the bit of torn shirt to herself and brushed her hair out of the way. The girl went to the window and chuckled darkly.

'~Juunana...~' she repeated his name over and over and watched him flee the scene. '~Come back...~' Her mother and Gohan left the room. She watched herself laugh.
'~This can't be happening... why am I doing this?~'
All day she had stuggled with comprehension, and this event pushed her to try harder. She left the room and went in search of Bulma. They were in their room, discussing the matter, quietly. Their voices warbled through the ether as if from under water.
'~Okaasan?~' she begged and reached out to touch her. Her hands, like smoke, broke around the woman. Desperately she tried to shake her, to scream at her, to pick up and throw things at her. She was useless. She wanted to cry, but such an action seemed ridiculous.
'~What can I do? Am I a ghost? I'm not dead, I'm in my room, but I'm here...~' she wandered by the tall mirror in her mother's dressing room. There was no reflection. '~Oh Kami!~' she whispered.
'~Kami...~'

The shack looked as if he had only left it yesterday rather than three weeks ago. As the sun set, Juunanago wandered in and closed the door. There was no need for lights with his super-human abilities, but he didn't want light anyway. The darkness of his house was enveloping. He crawled into his bed and pulled the covers up over him.
"Why?" he asked. "Why...?"

*
The sound of a broom distracted the young God from his meditation. He smiled. Popo-san had a way of very politely waking him in the morning by making soft, busy sounds. Dende stood up out of his throne and walked into the courtyard.
"Ohayo, Popo-san."
"Ohayo, Kami-sama. And how are you this morning?"
"Genki desu, Anata wa?"
"Very well, thank you."
This was the routine. In a few hours, God would peer down on the world and watch the people, busy with their restorations, smiling in their newfound peace.
This morning, God's ears twitched and he shuddered.
"What's the matter Kami-sama?"
Dende didn't reply. He walked further out towards the edge of the lookout and listened.
"Do you hear that, Popo-san?"
"Hear what?"
His pointed ears twitched again. "There it is again! It sounds like... someone calling my name."
"Then perhaps it is a prayer?"
"No, no. My NAME. I hear 'Dende'!"
"Perhaps it is something only you can percieve, Kami-sama."
"What do you mean?" he asked and turned to his friend.
"Well, you are God. You are omnipotent. You just need to focus and you can see and hear anything."
He furrowed his brows and did as Popo instructed. Sure enough, the sound became steadily clearer.
'~Dende... Please, help me, Dende.... Tasukete kudasai, Kami-sama...~'
"Where are you?" he asked.
'~Right here, in front of you, please... Dende...~' the faint voice sobbed.
He squinted. A human form resolved itself and became recognizable.
"Nani? Koneko?! What happened to you?!"
'~I don't know! You've got to help me, please!~' she cried, relieved that someone finally heard her. Her voice was as thin and whispy as her appearance.
"I'll try."

*
"She still won't come out!" Bulma complained. She rubbed her hands together with worry. "Why won't she talk to me, Gohan?"
He rubbed her shoulders. "Maybe she just needs time. This has probably brought back a lot of pain for her."
"Just like it has for you?" she asked and faced him.
He furrowed his brows. "If I see that bastard Jinzoningen again, I swear I'll rip his head clean off his fucking shoulders," he hissed the anger rising simply thinking about what had happened.
"Gohan..."
"I'm serious, Bulma." He frowned.
"So much agression," Koneko purred from behind them. "It's really quite refreshing."
"Koneko-chan!" Bulma took a step towards her, but Gohan gently pushed her back, sensing something deeply amiss.
"You want to let some of it out, Gohan? Let's go." She was wearing her full battle armour and a devious smirk.
Bulma shuddered. "God, Koneko. You sound like your father. What's wrong with you?"
Koneko's eyes widend. "My father?" she asked. "Really? Why thank you for the compliment. So are we on, Gohan?"
He nodded solomnly and followed her outside.
"Gohan! Koneko, wait!" Bulma yelled at them as they took to the sky.
He called back to her. "I'll get to the bottom of this."
They took off through the crisp, autumn air for the south.

*
'~So I'm not dead?~' Koneko whispered.
"No. I can see you." Dende looked over the edge. "Looks like you're getting ready to spar with Gohan."
'~But that's not me!~'
God stepped back and rubbed his chin. "Well then, something has replaced you."
Popo blinked at his friend. "Kami-sama, are you feeling all right this morning?" He was unable to see Koneko's apparition.
"Hai, Popo-san, It's Koneko. She's in a bit of a pinch at the moment. If you would kindly excuse us?"
Popo scratched his turban, but agreed and went back inside the palace.
Koneko hovered beside God, waiting for him to explain himself.
"I can't trace it, but I can tell that it is a restless spirit."
'~A ghost!?~'
"I believe so. And it has chosen you to posess."
Koneko wished she too could see what was going on miles from where they were. '~How do I fight it if I can't even touch anything?~' she growled, frustrated.
"I think I can teach you how to do what it has done to you. It's a technique used reversly by shaman in many cultures. They let themselves fall into a trance and ALLOW the spirit to possess them. In this case, you will be FORCING an unwilling soul OUT."
Dende pulled his hands out of his oversized sleeves and rubbed them together. "Let's see, where should I begin?" He walked a few paces back and forth, thinking before speaking.
"Everyone's soul is attached to their body by what's commonly called the Silver Thread. This line is anchored in the heart of a person untill they die and the soul is allowed to float away to its respective afterlife. Only when this anchor: the living body, is dead can a spirit move on. Hence why you're still on this plane. If you were dead, you'd be standing on line at Lord Enma's by now.
"Since you are still alive, you are here. I have no way of knowing for sure if the spirit which has your body now is 'living' or 'dead'. Either way, it's going to be difficult to force something that already knows how to possess people out of your body. If you should fail, it will only dig deeper and you may never get back.
"So to that end, I recommend you possess someone else and combat this thing on your terms. You know your moves and your strengths. You will probably be able to defeat it and reclaim your unconscious body."
'~Nani!? You want me to fight MYSELF!?~'
Dende shruged. "Do you have a better idea?"
She pouted. '~Can I at least practice before I go down?~' she asked. Her misty face batted its eyelashes at him.
"What, on me?" he chuckled. "That would look really bad, Koneko. I'm not supposed to ever lose control."
She pouted again.
"But.... There IS another option..." He grinned. "Popo-san? Can you come here a second?"

*
Gohan scowled at the girl across from him. She wore a cock-sure grin and held her fists at her hips. The chill wind blew her long hair.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked. "Afraid I may win?"
"No." Gohan stood where he was. "I have no such fear."
The grin fell. She squinted.
"What are you up to, Koneko? Is this some kind of latent agression?"
"Heh," she snorted. "You could say that."
"I know how you feel."
She squinted again. "What?"
"After last night, I've been itching to get this anger off of my chest, but I don't want to kill Juunanago. Not before I talk to his sister..." He trailed off. She was starting to laugh. "Nan.. nani?"
"HAHAHAHA! Gohan, you simpleton! Go ahead! Destroy him! See if I care! But first," she balled her fists. "Try me!!" Koneko charged him.
Gohan stood dumbly and took a left hook to the face. He flew backwards several hundred feet before recovering.
"Koneko! Stop this!" he growled. But she was upon him again and raining blows down on him. Gohan kicked her with both feet and jumped up into the air after her. He blocked her attacks and tried to get a hold of her, but she evaded his grasp.
"Knock it off, Koneko! Why are you behaving like this!?"
"Let's just say it's in my nature!" she shouted and came at him again.
Frustrated, Gohan reeled back and punched her down into the earth. In a moment, she was back up, just as determined as ever.
"Damn it, Koneko, STOP! I don't want to hurt you!"
"Too bad I can't say the same for you!!"
Gohan was shocked. He took several more hits before resuming his defence.

*
Mr. Popo's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to his knees, then flat on his face.
"Ooch," Dende hissed. "Maybe I should have told him to lie down first."
"Ow..." he moaned and pushed himself up on his hands. "Good thing he doesn't have a nose!"
"Koneko!?" Dende asked.
"Yup!" Popo stood and cheered. He put his little black fists on his hips and grinned wide. "This is sooooo weird..."
"Are you stable? Does it feel like your going to fly out at any moment?"
Popo thought for a second. "Nope."
"Excellent! You don't have a moment to lose!"
"Right," he nodded. "And I know just the fighter to possess. Thanks Dende!" Popo waved and fell down on his butt.
"Ow..."
"Popo-san?"
"Kami-sama? Why does my nose hurt?" he rubbed the spot between his mouth and eyes. A smallish sweat drop appeared above his friend's head.

*
Juunanago sat on a stump in front of his shack and wiped his brow. As long as he kept working, he didn't think. If he didn't think, he didn't hurt.
His sister had still not contacted him. He had no idea if his little neice was alive or dead. And he had no intention of going to that horrible place to find out.
Every dream he had ever had seemed dashed. Any chance for integration, redemption or forgiveness had been ruined.
'Why?' he thought. 'Why did she do that? What was that evil look in her eye?' Juunanago clutched his chest and sucked in a staggered breath.
"Why, Koneko?"
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his cheek. The single tear which had formed and run down it was brushed away. He blinked and looked to the sky.
'~Juunanago,~' a voice whispered.
He slumped his shoulders. His eyes closed. He gave in.

*
Gohan panted, but refused to go to Super Saiyan. Koneko had long since pushed herself that far and was getting bored with his defensive strategy.
"You pathetic excuse for a warrior!" she bellowed. "Why don't you try to stop me for real!?"
"Koneko, you're obviously not yourself. I won't fight you like this!"
"You're damn right, I'm not myself." She hovered in midair. Her aura glowed around her. "You know, it's no wonder you were the only one who survived."
Gohan wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "Nani?"
"You're a coward. You probably ran away like the little weakling you are when the shit hit the fan."
"What are you talking about?"
"May Twelth," she spat.
Gohan's face screwed itself into the foulest look it had ever held. "I was just a child. A building colapsed on me. They left me for dead, but I survived to fight another day."
"FACE IT!" she screamed. "You were weak! My father died that day, and you weren't brave enough to fall like the others!"
Gohan growled and his power level popped to Super Saiyan at last. "All right young lady," he fumed. "That's about enough out of you!"
"Yes! That's it! Bring it on!!" she cheered and the fight truly began.

Koneko powered up and fired blast after blast at him. By the minute, Gohan began to lose himself to his anger. He charged and prepaired to fire off a massive Masenko at the girl. A blast from nowhere stopped both of them in their tracks.
"Gohan, stop!" Juunanago shouted and sped towards the scene.
Gohan growled and turned his attention to the Jinzoningen.
"YOU!? I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO RUN!!!"
Juunana's eyes bulged, but he raised his arms in time to protect himself from the Masenko. Gohan followed this up with a barrage of punches and kicks, which Juunanago blocked.
"Gohan, wait! Listen to me!!" he shouted.
Koneko hovered where Gohan had left her and laughed out loud. "That's the spirit! But don't finish the job, Gohan! That pleasure is ALL MINE!!!"
Juunanago was pushed further and further away from the girl as Gohan barreled down on him. "Gohan," he hissed between blows. "You've got to listen..."
"The only thing I have to do is rid the world of you, once and for all!"
"Koneko is not who you think she is and neither am I!" He let his hands fall submissivly at his sides and Gohan reached out and grabbed his throat. "Gohan, it's me, Koneko! I'm in here!" he hissed.
"Shut up!" he shook him once, but didn't attack furthur. He raised his hand, ready to blast the Jinzoningen into oblivion if he had to.
"I'm serious! Look, how else would I know about the joke-telling sessions we had in the Room of Spirit and Time?!"
Gohan's eyes widened. He let go, but held his hand out, ready to attack.
"Remember the 'Pinky-pink' joke, or 'The Beautiful Music' joke? Those epics that took up so much of the down time we had before we went to sleep?"
He looked skeptical.
"You remember how I told you to take care of my Okaasan no matter what happened afterthe Cell game cause I thought I didn't have what it took to fight him? I was so scared, Gohan, and you convinced me that I could do anything..." Juunana's lip tembled.
Gohan put down his hand.
"Gohan-san, my body's been possesed. Dended taught me how to do it too so I grabbed the first availble fighter. If we can knock my body unconcous, I might be able to get back in."
"As ridiculous as that sounds..." Gohan took a deep breath. "I believe you. No one else could have known what you just said."
Juunana/Koneko sighed. "Ok. Don't tell it what I told you. Dende said if it catches on, it'll be harder to get it out."
He nodded. The men turned to the demon and scowled.

"Huh?" Koneko puzzled. "What's this? Have you pussed out of this, too?"
"No, Koneko." Gohan dropped out of Super. "We've both decided that you're sick. We're going to take care of you."
"Come on, Koneko-chan. I know you just need a nap. Let's go home," Juunanago pleaded.
"You've got to be JOKING!" she screamed and flew at them both.
Together, the men were able to evade her, but neither had the desire she had to do harm. She focused her attacks on Gohan, and the older, half-Saiyan started to take damage.
"Koneko, stop!" Juunanago tried to pry her off of him, but just got a blast to the chest for his trouble. He flew back into a nearby cliff and burried himself a half a mile in.

When he finally emerged and came back to the scene, he gasped in horror. Gohan lay unconscious on the ground. Koneko's body stood over him and laughed.
"Now I'll have a more appropriate body! Much as it debases me to enter a low-class peice of trash such as yourself, I guess I'll just have to deal with it." She sneered and closed her eyes. "At last, I'll have it all back."
"NO!" Juunanago shouted and fired off a power attack.
The blast was huge. He could tell, a moment after he fired it, that it was too big.

Koneko turned and faced the oncoming attack. A look of total surprise came over her. The attack hit her dead on and exploded so brightly, even the Jinzoningen had to sheild his eyes.
The impact pushed Koneko for a mile or so before her body caught up on the ground and turned over and over like a leaf in the wind.
Juunanago sped after her. She lay, twisted on the ground, barely breathing.
"Kuso!" Juunana hissed as he picked up the thin body, gently. "What have I done to myself?"
Koneko's eyes fluttered open. "My.. myself?" she stuttered.
He nodded. "Who are you? Why did you take over my body? What do you have against me and the people I love?!"
"Love..." she whispered. "Shimatta..." Her eyes locked on the Jinzoningen's. "I'm sorry... Bra-chan," she breathed. "I never meant to..."
Juunanago gasped as the body went completly limp. "Ie... 'Bra-chan'...?"

Gohan ran to them. He stopped a few feet away and stared at them both. "Oh my God, Koneko."
"I didn't know he could pack such a wallop..." Juunanago whispered.
"But..." Gohan tried to comprehend the situation. "You're techincally still alive..."
He shook his head. "Dende said if the body dies, the soul is free. Once I relinquish this body, I'll be gone."
Gohan cursed under his breath.
"Well, you know," Juunana lay the body down and looked up at Gohan. "I was getting sorta jealous, you guys having all been dead before and stuff..." he tried to laugh.
Gohan looked devastated. "If I hadn't jumped the gun. If I..."
"Stop it!" he shouted. "Gohan, this isn't about you. It was HIS fault." He motioned to the corpse.
"His?"
"He called me Bra-chan. There's only one person without a body of their own (who I've been told was pretty much pure evil when he wanted to be) who could have done this: my father, Vegeta."
Gohan furrowed his brows. "Masaka... Are you sure? If he helped you guys out a few years ago from the great beyond, why would he want to come back and ruin everything?"
"I don't know. That's why I want to get to the bottom of this. Please wait to wish me back for as long as you can." Juunanago stood up.
"Why?"
"I'm going to find him and ask him myself." He lowered his head. "Gohan-san," he whispered. "I'm scared. What's it like... to die?"
"I don't remember."
Juunanago looked to him. "I know this'll be weird, but..." His eyes watered. "Could I get a hug?"
Gohan made a face, but he could tell that inside the Jinzonigen's body was a frightened girl who needed him. Awkardly, Gohan patted him on the back as he squeezed him, hard.
"Good luck, Koneko. You'll need it."
"Hai. Arigato, Gohan-san." Juunanago waved sheepishly, closed his eyes and colapsed to the ground.
Anxiously, Gohan waited. The wind blew dust around the fallen forms of the Android and the half-Saiyan. Then Juunanago stirred. He sat up, bewildered and looked to Gohan for an explanation. Before he could ask what had happened, he spotted Koneko's body. He registered no life forece from her form and crawled over to her.
"Koneko-chan?" he whispered and pulled her into his lap. "KONEKO-CHAN?!"
"She's dead, Juunanago," Gohan droned.
"Did I...?" he looked up at him. His broken heart was splashed across his face.
"No! No... It's a long story. No, you didn't."
He held her close to him and bowed his head. "How soon can we wish her back?"
"Not for a year. Come on," Gohan walked over to him. "Let's take her home. I have to break the news to Bulma."
He waited untill Juunanago had collected himself. The Android picked up his lover's body and took to the air. Gohan flew close by him.
"I want to appologise," he said, looking straight head. "For yesterday."
Juunanago nodded and they both flew back to Capsule.

*
"So that's it, huh?" Koneko asked as she watched the men fly away with her corpse.
"Yup, pretty much."
She turned and looked at the woman. She was about as tall as she was but her skin was as white as paper and her eyes were as black as pitch.
"What happens now?"
"You come with me to Lord Enma's Check-in Station."
"Oh," she shrugged. "Does everyone go there?" she wonderd.
"Depends."
If she hadn't been so worried about the journey ahead, she would have pressed Death further. Koneko's mind wandered.
"Hey, what's going on with Chibi-chan? Is she going to live?"
It was Death's turn to shrug.
"Figured."
They ascended through the clouds and a long line came into view.
"Here we are. Good luck, Koneko-chan."
"Thanks," she turned to say good-bye, but she was already gone.

Enma Daio shuffled papers from one pile to another, stamping each with the efficiancy of the king of bureaucrats. He muttered to himself as each new arrival was directed to its appropriate afterlife. "Heaven, Hell, Hell, Hell, Heaven... Heaven..."
"Ano, Enma-sama? Sumimasen!"
"Oro?" The large, behorned bureaucrat stopped his stamping and looked down at the spirit trying to get his attention. Out of a line of little, white, puffy souls, Koneko stuck out, having maintained her humanoid form. "What's this?"
"Uh, Hi! I'm Koneko and.."
"I know very well who you are, Bra "Koneko" Breifs." He pulled out a giant set of reading glasses and examined a peice of paper the size of a house through them, He then looked over the top of them at her. "What is it? I'm a busy man."
"I know, Lord Enma, I'll make it quick. I'd like to go to Hell, please."
There was a soft, collective gasp from the souls behind her.
"I believe my otousan is there and I need to speak with him," she clarified.
"Hmmm," Enma shufled papers. "Yes, Vegeta. He was just sent back there again. Maximum security for him this time, I see. Ninth circle. Nasty, little bastard that one..."
"Sent BACK?" Koneko made a face. "My Okaasan said he was in Heaven."
More shuffling. "Yes, he was. But he broke the rules and was sent downstairs."
"What rule did he break?" she asked sort of testily. He glared at her. "Uh, which rule, Enma-sama?"
"He..." *shuffle schuffle* "..comunicated with the living."
"Nani!? But he's a hero! He gave his life for Earth and when he spoke to us, it was only 'cause he wanted to help my okaasan and me find each other!"
"Mmm, I see. Not REALLY and evil action. Hm. Too bad."
"TOO BAD!?" Her father's temper rose in her. "He DESERVES to be in HEAVEN!"
"Yes, well, so do YOU. NEXT!"
"No!" Koneko stamped and fumed. "This isn't fair!"
"Death's not fair, deal with it. NEXT!!"
"WAIT!" a light went on in Koneko's head. "I have to go to Hell!" she yelled triumphantly. "I killed myself!"
"What?" Enma dropped the 'Heaven' stamper and it crashed to the floor like a tank. "But you're one of the purest people on Earth! It says here that Juunanago killed you and that you only did it to stop Vegeta!"
"Ah! But my soul was in Juunana at the time, so I killed my own body. It's the same thing."
"That's a techincallity!" Enma barked.
"So was my otousan's indescretion! Unless you want to contradict yourself, I suggest you send me to Hell, pronto!"
Enma grumbled and his assistants looked very worried. "Come here," he wispered to her. Koneko flew up to the surface of the desk and listened carefully. "This is making me look bad. And if word gets out about what I've done to Vegeta, It could be VERY bad, so..."
"So, let him out!"
"Shhh! It's not that easy! I don't have dominion over Heaven or Hell. I'm just traffic." He waved an enourmous stamper at her. "If you can reach Vegeta and escape Hell together, I tell ya what, I'll let you both into heaven."
"Awright! Now you're talkin'!" Koneko clapped her hands together.
"SHHHHHHH! Sheesh. Ok. Here's what you do..."
Enma them imparted to her the nessesary secrets of Hell which she would need to have a chance to escape it.
"You'll have to start with the ninth cirlce of Hell, find Vegeta and make your way to the first. Now, I'm not saying that there's a garuntee or anything. If you don't make it back here, the deal can't happen."
"Gotcha. Don't you worry, Enma-sama. I'll get him back." Koneko grinned and bowed deeply. The 'Hell' stamper came down on her form and she was ushered to the entrance to Hell.

*
Juunanago stood in the corner of the room and stared at his feet. Gohan held Bulma by the arms. Her smile fell. She glared at the Jinzoningen. Gohan shook his head and tried to explain. The distraught mother loosed her venom on Juunanago, cursing him with everything she had. Gohan had to shake her a bit to get her to listen to him. She slid down cooperativly onto a kitchen stool and heard the story.
When it was done, Bulma got up and walked over to Juunanago, who had remained to hear the story as well. He tried to back away, but she reached out and took his hands. She appologized and invited him to stay with them for as long as he liked, then returned to Gohan and fell into his arms, sobbing.

*
A soft, pleasant pinging was the first sound Zen'i had heard in days. An LCD display slowly flashed the words 'task complete'. She reached over to turn it off and was a little startled at the state of her hands. Effortlessly, she rejoined the split digits and rubbed her fingers. They were ice cold. Finally, she pressed the 'ok' button and the pining stopped.
Zen'i sighed and looked from the human child to the Jinzoningen child. She stood, and for the first time since she could remember, she felt completely exhausted. Her body was fine, of course; it was her metal state of being that had been taxed. She stroked the child's pale cheek and whispered to her.
"You're awake," Polian murmured from behind.
"Yes."
He joined her and looked down on their delicate charge.
"Is she alright?"
"I don't know." Zen'i glanced over at the lab table. Death was still there, leaning back and swinging her thin legs over the edge. "Not yet."
A large, red button glowed ominously between the chamber which kept Chibi-chan alive and the cold slab on which the todler Jinzoningen body rested; waiting.
"If I fail, Polian. She dies. I can't plug her back in."
"I know, but she's dying anyway, Zen'i. This is all we can do." He put his hand on her shoulder. She nodded and pressed the button.

Machines which Zen'i had spent the last week putting together went into action. Polian could only wonder at exactly what they were doing. Zen'i's eyes darted as she watched the various checkpoints light up or switch off accordingly. The contraption hummed as it worked. A status bar counted up; fifty percent, seventy two, eighty eight...
One hundred percent. A soft ping signaled the end of the procedure and a harsher tone signalled the cessation of Chibi-chan's human body's life functions. Zen'i held her breath. The red buttom was now green. She reached out with an unsteady hand and pressed it. What looked like a small, black and white television monitor displayed the perfect rhythem of the Jinzoningen's heartbeat.
Polian sighed. Zen'i looked to the lab table. The pale young woman was gone. 'Oh no,' she thought. 'Is that a good sign or a bad one!?'
She busied herself disconnecting the connection cables from the little adroid and tripple checking all of its functions. Then she took its tiny hand.
"Chibi-chan?" she asked "Wake up, honey..."
The Jinzoningen's eyes snapped open. She looked up at the ceiling, then over at the speaker.
Zen'i's heart went into her throat. "Do you know," she swallowed hard, "who you are?"
"Jinzoningen Chibi-Puroutotaipu Juugogo desu," she said in an eerily perfect child's voice.
Zen'i slumped her shoulders and stared into her huge, ice-blue eyes. There wasn't a hint of recogniton in them. "Oh no..." she moaned and could not hold herself back. Zen'i began to cry.
Polian bit down into his lip and fought back his own tears. He turned off the still ringing flatline which came from Chibi-chan's lifesign monitor. He closed his eyes.
Zen'i put her head down on her folded arms and sobbed heavily. The little android sat up next to her and swung her legs over the side of the table. She raised her hand to her mouth.
"Why are you crying?" she asked in her spooky, high voice.
"My daughter is dead," she whispered.
"That's so sad..." she answered. Her voice was muffled a little. This, and the statement itself piqued Zen'i's interest. She lifted her head and looked up at the girl.
Chibi Protoype 15 had her fingers in her mouth. The sad, distant look in her eyes drew Zen'i to her. Startelingly, her eyes were now no longer blue, but grey.
Zen'i sat up, reached over and gently took her hand out of her mouth. "Chibi-chan," she whispered, "you shouldn't chew on your fingers..."
Polian stopped staring at the dead body and swung his attention towards them. "Nani..?"
"Look, Polian," she pointed. "Her eyes..." Zen'i smiled and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Chibi-chan. Do you know who we are?"
She shook her head.
"But..." Polian started. Zen'i held up her hand.
"Do you have a mother, Sweetie?"
Again, she shook her head.
Zen'i smiled. "Yes you do."
The little protoype blinked, then smiled wide as well. She lunged at Zen'i and hugged her tightly. Zen'i picked her up. Polian crossed to them, carefull to keep his body between the little corpse behind him and new Jinzoningen's line of sight.
"I'll take care of the clean up," he muttered to his friend.
"Polian!.." she protested. It was his turn to shush her.
He stroked Chibi-Juugogo's green hair. "Hi, Kiddo."
"Konnichiwa. Watashi no Otousan desu ka?"
"I suppose so," he grinned. "Take her home. I'll be there in a bit."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded.
Zen'i hugged her daughter close. "Come on, Chibi-chan. Let's go home."

On to Part THREE